Category Archives: 21st century

The Contemporary Bindi

The sticker bindi revolution was probably the last major shift in bindi style.  And they are still around though you are more likely to find women wearing the “neutral” red/maroon/black round bindis on an everyday basis. And often no bindi … Continue reading

Posted in 21st century, contemporary fashion, Contemporary Style, Culture, fashion, Indian Aesthetics, Indian fashion, indian style, Indian Women, Women | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

East+West

There are plenty of examples of clothes from the West that make use of Indian textiles, at least from the Regency period onwards. Examples include muslin, paisley shawls, 1950s dresses and cotton gauze dresses of the 70s and 80s. There … Continue reading

Posted in 19th century, 20th century, 21st century, Colonial, Contemporary, contemporary fashion, Costume, Early 20th Century, fashion, India, Indian Aesthetics, Indian Costume, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Late 19th century, late 20th century, salwar, Sari, Sari Blouse, sari drape, Sari Dress, sari history, Vintage, Vintage Dress, vintage fashion, vintage sari, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Colour

The most common colors on the market are the kind you cannot name, the not quite blues, not quite grays and the not quite yellows that are used only for background and referred to as neutral colors, camouflage, “civilized colors,” … Continue reading

Posted in 1750s, 18th century, 1930s, 1940s, 20th century, 21st century, Actor, colour, Contemporary Style, Costume, Courtesan, Culture, fashion, Fashion Quote, Folk, Indian Aesthetics, Indian Costume, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Textiles, Indian Women, natural dye, Prints, Sari, Sari Blouse, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Regional Cinema Post

For very many reasons Bollywood is Indian cinema.  Now and then regional cinema makes a splash – especially at the National Awards – but for the most part the audiences are local.  You could however argue that all the interesting … Continue reading

Posted in 21st century, Accessories, Actor, Cinema, Contemporary, contemporary fashion, Contemporary Style, Culture, fashion, Film Costuming, Flowers, Indian Cinema, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Jewellery, Manipur, Marathi cinema, North East, North East India, Period Drama, Punjab, regional styles, Sari, Sari Blouse, Sets, South Indian Cinema, Tamil Cinema, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Forest Post

Pic 1: Nandalal Bose, Evening, 1941. Pic 2: Girl in  a Forest, Allah Bux, 1963.  [X] Pic 1: Girl from Chotanagpur (1956) Pic 2: One of a series taken of a Santhal festival in Santiniketan. Via Shibaditya Ray. The original … Continue reading

Posted in 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 21st century, Accessories, Art, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Tribal, vintage art, vintage sari, vintage style | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bits n Bobs

Gharara/Sharara…still confused by the many definitions. Raghu adds a few more explanations to 1950s hairstyles. Bengal’s laterite soil makes for Japanese dye. Please admire Waheeda – X and X.

Posted in 17th century, 1950s, 1960s, 19th century, 20th century, 21st century, Asia, Bengal, Bollywood, Cinema, Costume, Culture, East Asia, Edo, fashion, Hair, Indian Cinema, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Textiles, Indian Women, Japanese, natural dye, Old Bollywood, retro, retro fashion, Tumblr, Vintage, vintage costume, Vintage Dress, vintage fashion, vintage hair, vintage style, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the Street, India

Click for larger view. 1. Nauvari and Nath girls looking very lovely, Somaiya College, Mumbai. Taken on the college’s “Traditional Day”. 2. Mochi (cobbler) in Mumbai.  She is not alone: Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ernakulam, 3.  Anklet wearing schoolgirls. Taken in Bengaluru. … Continue reading

Posted in 21st century, Accessories, Contemporary, Contemporary Style, Costume, Culture, fashion, Girls, India, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Jewellery, Personal, Photography, regional styles, Sari, Sari Blouse, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Shawl Post

The blue shawl first, a canopy of blue, The Face, Conrad Aiken New Kangra Painting and Girl with Blue Shawl by Wink Willett.

Posted in 21st century, Accessories, Asia, Contemporary, Contemporary Style, Costume, Culture, fashion, Girls, historical art, indian art, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian Women, Paintings, Photography, Sets, winterwear, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

On Indian Clothing

The people of Pataliputra* dressed well in flowered muslins embroidered with jewels, and an umbrella was carried by an attendant behind the head of a noble when he went into the road. Kleitarchus, however, found that in other, poorer parts … Continue reading

Posted in 21st century, 3rd century BCE, Ancient India, Asia, Contemporary, Contemporary Style, Costume, Culture, fashion, gems, Girls, historical costume, historical dress, historical fashions, History, India, Indian Dress, Indian fashion, Indian History, Indian men, Indian Textiles, Indian Women, Sari, Sari Blouse, sari drape, sari history, Vintage, vintage costume, vintage style, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bali

I spent some time in Ubud, Bali and despite being overrun with tourists it seemed to suffer little from the usual soulless nature of such places. It helped that I wasn’t in Ubud “proper” though I missed out on a … Continue reading

Posted in 21st century, Asia, Contemporary, Costume, Culture, Flowers, Girls, Hinduism, South East Asia, Travel, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment